School of Business News
Chairman of the FDIC speaks at KU
Global financial organization partners with KU undergrad finance program
Tax Club and Dole Institute of Politics welcome Sharon Kay
Chairman of the FDIC speaks at KU
The KU School of Business welcomed Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to campus. Bair delivered the 2007 Chandler Lecture at the Lied Center on Monday, Sept. 17.
Throughout the day, Bair attended a press conference and a roundtable discussion with area bankers, and met with business school students. Her visit concluded with a free public lecture titled “A Culture Lost: What’s Happened to the American Saver.”
Sheila Bair, c’75, l’78, was sworn in as chairman of the FDIC in June 2006, having previously served on the organization’s Advisory Committee on Banking Policy. During that time, she also served on the faculty for the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Prior to that, Bair held numerous positions, including assistant secretary for financial institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, senior vice president for government relations of the New York Stock Exchange and counsel to Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, ’45.
In late 2006, Bair was named to SmartMoney magazine’s “Power 30” list of the 30 most influential people in investing.
The Chandler Lecture Series began in 1997 and is made possible by Anderson Chandler, b’48. Chandler is CEO, president and director of Fidelity State Bank and Trust Co. of Topeka and vice president and director of First Bank of Newton. Chandler serves on the School of Business Board of Advisors, in addition to supporting numerous other initiatives throughout the University and the school.
For more information about the Chandler Lecture or the KU School of Business, call 785-864-3795 or visit www.business.ku.edu.
Global financial organization partners with KU undergrad finance program
The KU School of Business undergraduate program recently has been recognized as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program Partner. The distinction certifies that finance students have the necessary training to sit for the first level of the CFA exam, the investment profession’s most rigorous credentialing exam.
Recognition as a CFA Program Partner signals to potential students and employers that the school’s finance curriculum is closely tied to professional practice.
“The fact that the CFA Institute chose to partner with the school is a clear indication of the strength of our finance program,” said Doug Houston, director of finance, economics and decision sciences at the business school. “Only 35 other universities around the world have met the stringent standards of the CFA Institute, so we’re in elite company.”
The school’s undergraduate finance major requires at least 18 credit hours of finance-related coursework, in addition to the core business curriculum. Students who complete the program are prepared to enter careers in corporate finance or investments and portfolio management.
Mark Hirschey, director of KU’s CFA program, said, “Over the years, several of our top students in our Applied Portfolio Management and Security Analysis courses have gone on to complete the CFA program. With this new CFA Program Partner initiative, more KU students will gain access to the top professional credential in the field of investments and the tremendous career opportunities it makes possible.”
Because the school is a Program Partner, KU finance students will gain access to CFA Institute textbooks, webcasts and other educational resources. Students will also benefit from professional development events held in conjunction with the Kansas City CFA Society.
“Job candidates with both advanced degrees and professional certification are more in demand than ever,” said Christie Cody, CFA, CFP, director of portfolio management at the Commerce Trust Company and president of Kansas City CFA Society. “This is a great benefit to advance and succeed in the financial industry’s competitive job market.”
The CFA Institute is the global membership association that administers the CFA curriculum and exam programs worldwide. The organization also conducts professional development programs and publishes finance-related research. The CFA exam is regarded as the toughest credentialing program for the investment profession. Fewer than one in five candidates who begin the three-part exam successfully complete it and earn a CFA charter, the gold standard for investment professionals.
Tax Club and Dole Institute of Politics welcome Sharon Kay
The KU Tax Club, a student organization in the KU School of Business, and the Dole Institute of Politics welcome Sharon A. Kay, b’93, g’94, taxation specialist in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel at the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. In an event free to the public, Kay spoke at the Dole Institute of Politics on Thursday, Sept. 13.
Kay discussed the search for uncertainty, controversy, transparency and simplification that leads treasury to propose tax legislation or to publish tax guidance. She illustrated the role of the Office of Tax Policy in developing and reviewing legislation, regulations and other published guidance. Kay also discussed selected tax provisions, including the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
Kay specializes in tax accounting, particularly accounting for inventories. Before joining the Department of the Treasury in July 2002, Kay worked in the Washington National Tax office of Ernst & Young L.L.P., where she specialized in accounting methods and inventories. Kay earned an undergraduate degree in business administration and accounting, and a master’s degree in business with an emphasis in tax, both from KU.
Visit the School of Business Web site for more information.
